


Count Up Your Sheep

by phidari



Category: Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: Gen, Insomnia, One Shot, POV Third Person Limited, Past Tense, Poor Life Choices, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 21:44:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7009291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phidari/pseuds/phidari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Philip can't sleep. Shotaro tells him to count sheep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Count Up Your Sheep

**Author's Note:**

> how did i not think of this title to begin with

The refrigerator door opened. Shotaro rolled over and pulled back the curtain that hung across the alcove.

"Philip, what the heck?"

Philip glanced over his shoulder, his form appearing as a silhouette against the light of the refrigerator. "Good evening, Shotaro. Did I wake you?"

"What time is it?"

Philip looked at his watch. "Two-ten."

Shotaro groaned. He rolled over onto his back with a huff. "What are you researching _this_ time?"

"Huh?"

"To keep you awake this late," Shotaro clarified.

Philip paused for a few seconds. Shotaro could just _see_ the wheels turning in his head. "Ah! Nothing, actually," he replied. "I just can't sleep, that's all. I'm getting a snack." Finally he pulled something out of the fridge and shut the door.

That was new.

Cautiously, Shotaro sat up, pushing the curtain open the rest of the way so he could watch Philip at work. He'd gotten some bread out and was making himself a sandwich.

"Is everything all right?"

Philip nodded as he spread jam or something on a slice of bread. "It's fine, Shotaro. Are you worried?" he teased.

Shotaro sputtered. "Is there something wrong with that? You're my partner, I don't want you missing out on sleep!"

"Heh." Philip placed a slice of cheese on his sandwich and then reached for the mustard.

Did Philip think Shotaro's concern was funny? Seriously? "Fine, fine, if you say so. Just... try counting sheep if you still can't get to sleep, okay? We can't fight Dopants if you're sleep-deprived."

"Counting sheep?" Philip repeated, and immediately Shotaro hoped he hadn't made a mistake.

 

To Philip's credit, he finished his sandwich before he returned to the garage. Maybe that's why Shotaro didn't think to follow him and make sure he was getting his shut-eye. Philip had gotten a lot better about prioritizing over the last few months—if he was able to eat before doing research, the same had to apply to sleep.

Right?

Wrong.

The whiteboards lining the garage's walls were covered in notes, and the sound of a marker squeaking against vinyl assaulted Shotaro's ears as soon as he walked in to check on Philip. When he went in to get a closer look, all of the notes were on...

...sheep.

Instantly Shotaro realized his mistake. He shouted incoherently.

"Good morning, Shotaro," Philip said cheerily. Then he yawned. He was in the middle of drawing a highly-detailed anatomical diagram of a sheep. The board he was working on currently was otherwise full of drawings of cute, fuzzy, stylized cartoon sheep. "Sheep are fascinating creatures. As it turns out, there are millions of sheep in the world, but pinning down an exact number is difficult. Which species do I count? Only wild sheep? Only domesticated varieties? The total number? And the line between _sheep_ and _goats_ is surprisingly blurrier than one might think—"

"That's not what I meant by 'count sheep'!"

Philip stopped drawing. He turned toward Shotaro in confusion, swaying back and forth on his feet.

Great. Shotaro groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "Counting sheep is just what you do when you can't sleep. You imagine sheep jumping over a fence or something, and count them, and your brain stops thinking about other things and you fall asleep."

"That's strange. You're strange, Shotaro." Philip _tsk_ ed and turned back to his sheep diagram. "This is more enter—" He yawned again. "Entertaining."

"You're obviously exhausted. You should—"

Before Shotaro could finish his sentence, Philip had collapsed to the floor.

Crap. Crap crap _crap!_ In an instant Shotaro was at his partner's side. Philip was still breathing, that was a relief, but he was out like a light.

He gathered Philip up in his arms—he was so _slight_ , how could he be this _heavy?_ —and dragged him to the couch by the wall.

Once Philip was tucked in, Shotaro resolved that he was going to hide every single marker Philip owned.


End file.
